S&W 642 or similar, hammer or hammerless? .38+P?

I've been looking for a couple of small .38s one for me and the wife, maybe both the same for convienence, etc. Hammer or hammerless?

I've shot for ~50 years, wife a total rookie not crazy about guns but she's coming around. I'd like to control the kick for her, how about the .38 loads? Can (would) you use a regular .38 in a .38 special or .38+P?

638. That hump conceals a hammer. It has the benefits of a hammer - you can cock it - and the benefits of hammerless - it don't snag on your pocket. Best of both worlds.

But, as to whether a novice 5'0" woman handle a 642? This young man is 10, maybe 11. Comes up to about my breastbone. Notice, in the second pic, he is using his bird finger to pull the trigger. He did not have the grip strength to do it with his index finger. BUT - he got it done and shot pretty good.

No idea of the poundage. The young lady in the grey t-shirt, in the last picture. That's my daughter. She has one. I bought it used, for 330, in December of '99 and gave it to her for Christmas. 385 is a SMOKIN' good deal.

The LCR's are nice, I'm thinking of that being my new backup just due to weight.

But I'd recommend the 642 for certain and if for under $400 I would jump on it. Ruger is up to par and in some cases surpasses S&W for overall quality but I've only gotten hands on one LCR and it hasn't been around that long.

I stick to the sp101 if my backup can be exposed, otherwise the 642 is a winner.

so to make a semi-long story short, I vote buy the 642! and start with light reloads if you can before you throw +P down the pipe. but you already knew that...